Women’s Basketball Opens Season in Union Classic

The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles opened the 2012-13 season on the road as they traveled to Barboursville to participate in the Union College Bulldog Classic. Below are recaps of each game.

November 2, 2012

ALC 93

Martin Methodist 83

Ariel Nickell

Junior forward Ariel Nickell poured in a career high 38 points and added 15 rebounds to spark the Lady Eagles to the season opening victory.

The first half saw Martin Methodist look to press and play an up-tempo style of ball. ALC was able to match their style, however, and rode the shooting of Nickell and point guard Carla Booth to vault to a 59-45 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Lady Eagles maintained their cushion and coasted to the double digit win as Methodist was never able to mount a serious run at the lead.

For ALC (1-0), in addition to Nickell‘s big night, sophomores Booth and JJ Hickson also had nice nights. Booth pumped in 22 points, added 5 rebounds, and a team high 4 assists. Hickson chipped in with 13 points and added 5 rebounds as well.

Martin Methodist (0-1) was led by the 24 points of guard Jessy Christopher.

On the night, ALC outshot their opponent 48% to 32%

November 3, 2012

ALC 83

Union College 111

For the second consecutive night, Coach John Mills‘s squad faced a run and gun team, but on this night, the hosts proved too much. The Eagles defense suffered a setback as they allowed Union to connect on a torrid 14-23 from three-point range in the disappointing loss.

The host Bulldogs came out of the starting block on fire. They rode their long range shooting to leap ahead 56-35 by intermission.

In the second half, Union kept up their offensive prowess, and they were able to ride their shooting to the big victory.

For ALC (1-1), Ariel Nickell led four players in double figures as she tossed in 18 points. She also added 8 rebounds.

In summing up his teams weekend, Coach Mills said, “This was a great test for us to see where we are and how far we have to go. We faced two high up-tempo teams in this classic and were fortunate to meet the challenge in the opening game. Unfortunately, we could not sustain the effort for game two.” The coach added, “We will get back to work and prepare for a tough challenge next week.”

On the night, ALC was outshot by their opponent 57.8% to 42.9%. They also gave up 14 three-point baskets while only hitting 3 themselves.